Russia will deliver S-400 missiles to India as planned: President Vladimir Putin

BRASILIA: Russia plans to deliver S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India on schedule, President Vladimir Putin had said on Thursday.

India had agreed to buy the S-400 missile system from Russia last year despite US warnings the purchase could trigger sanctions against it. 

India said that it needed the weapons to bolster its defences against China.

"As far as the S-400 deliveries are concerned, everything is going according to plan. Our Indian colleagues have not asked to speed anything up, it`s all going fine," President Putin told reporters at a summit of BRICS countries in Brazil.

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Russian President also told reporters that he had discussed supplying Russian S-400 missile defence system to India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PM Modi and President Putin also reviewed the progress made in the bilateral relationship between India and Russia since the former's visit to Vladivostok in September.

The Prime Minister, during his bilateral meeting with the Russian President on the margins of the 11th BRICS summit, decided that the first Bilateral Regional Forum at the level of Russian Provinces and Indian States should be held next year to dismantle the barriers of trade at regional level, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The two leaders noted with satisfaction that the USD 25 billion target of bilateral trade by 2025 has already been achieved, it read.

"I had an excellent meeting with President Putin. During our talks, we reviewed the full range of India-Russia relations. India and Russia are cooperating extensively in areas such as trade, security and culture. People of our nations will benefit due to close bilateral ties," the Prime Minister said.

The two leaders met over two months after holding extensive talks in Russia`s Far East city of Vladivostok on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) wherein India had announced an "unprecedented" USD 1 billion line of credit to develop the country`s resource-rich Far East region.

During the meeting, the two leaders noted the stability and progress made in imports of oil and natural gas. 

Putin highlighted the potential of the Arctic region in natural gas and invited India to invest in the region, the statement said.

The two leaders also reviewed the progress made in the field of Infrastructure particularly railways in the context of raising the speed of the Nagpur-Secunderabad sector railway line. 

The leaders also noted with satisfaction the cooperation in the defence sector and in the field of civil nuclear energy. 

They welcomed the prospects of cooperation in civil nuclear energy in third countries, it read.

The two leaders also noted that both sides shared a common position on international issues and agreed to continue close consultations in the future, the statement added.

Meanwhile, the Russian President also reiterated the invitation to the Prime Minister to visit Moscow to participate in the Victory Day celebrations next year, which Modi gladly accepted.

(With Agency inputs)